a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

Bits from Practice, 4/7

**Tyrone Corbin on why the Jazz claimed Erik Murphy
He’s a young guy, big guy who can shoot the ball. He works hard. From a good basketball background at Florida, so we’ll get him on the floor here and see how he can mesh with these guys.What have you heard about him from Dennis Lindsey?
Just that. Hard worker. Smart player. Can shoot the ball for a big. And he’s a young guy that can get better.**Corbin, asked if Murphy’s presence and integration slows down practice
Well, it would, you know, if we were trying to, you know, get him a lot of stuff in, and try and get him into a lot of different sets, it would. But I, at this juncture, it’s not a lot of time to get him, with the guys we have, the games we have. We developing some other guys right now, so tryna interrupt that process would put you behind a little bit.**Corbin, asked why Andris Biedrins didn’t work out
You know what, I think he’s better suited, it just di–kinda where we are, for us, you know, with Derrick [Favors] and Enes [Kanter], and we have Rudy [Gobert]. You know, we h–early on, he was a veteran guy, but you know, our mission all along was to develop the young guys, and play the young guys more. So, and he was great. He was a great guy to have on the team. He was great about the situation he knew he was in, and he was ready, when we had a chance. He was coming off a couple years, he hadn’t played much. He’d lost some confidence. But he came in with an open mind. He came in in great shape, and you know, we just didn’t get an opportunity to get him on the floor a lot with the guys that we have.**Corbin, asked for his thoughts on the length of the season
I love it. I grew up in it. I expect it to be what it is. So, I never thought it was too long. I enjoyed playing basketball. It’s what I do. So, it’s a grind. And I’m not saying it’s easy. But it is what it is. That’s what make the NBA what it is, man. That, you have 82 games, and you travel a lot, and you have a different opponent every night, you get four games in five nights, and who’s tough enough to fight their way through those things, and you know, I was blessed enough to be able to do it for 16 years. It is what it is.

**Erik Murphy on the last few days
It’s a stressful couple of days…talking to your agent everyday, and trying to figure out what’s gonna happen. But you know, I’m just, I’m excited to be here. Grateful for the opportunity from the Jazz, and you know, getting ready to work right now.**Murphy, asked what he brings to the team
You know, I think I’m a bigger guy that can, you know, stretch the floor and shoot the ball. Provide some spacing on offense. You know, I’m gonna, you know, play hard every possession. I’m gonna, you know, I’m gonna defend, I’m gonna rebound, I’m gonna work hard in all those areas, and I’m just gonna do whatever I can to help a team win.**Murphy on his basketball background
Basketball’s kinda in my blood. My dad played, and my mom played over for the Finnish national team when she was younger, and you know, I think, it’s just, I’ve always been around the game, so you know, I grew up, you know, falling in love with it, and, ever since I was young, you know? Just always been around basketball and it was, it’s something that I, you know, I’ve always loved.**Murphy, asked if getting claimed off waivers eased the pain of Florida’s loss
No. No, it did not.

Note: This article postulates that the Murphy signing was the result of the Jazz returning a favor to the Bulls for the Boozer sign-and-trade deal. (H/T @JazzingItClark)